Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Susie Wilkening is a super-smart museum researcher, so I asked her to share some of her recent findings with ExhibiTricks readers:

"Museums are the glue that holds together families, culture, and communities." – a respondent from 2017 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers

What is the role of museums in American society?

For me, that is the ultimate question. Nine words that include what we, as museums (including science centers, zoos, etc.), do, and why what we do matters. Nine words that leave open the possibility that we are crucial to our society having a thriving future … but also the possibility that we don’t matter at all. Nine words that guide my thinking, questioning, and research.

Museums benefit individuals. They spark curiosity, improve quality of life, further education, and are a place of family memories. There’s also data that museum-goers have better life outcomes as well … even when educational attainment is controlled for.

Why that “to some” comment before? We fail when it comes to equal access. My data underscores the privilege that is inherent in proactively seeking out learning opportunities. The privilege of having time, energy, and money to visit a museum, visit a library, or take a hike in the woods. That doing those things is worth the investment of time, energy, and money … an assumption not all can afford to make. Until we truly live equal access, and benefits are spread more evenly across society, we are reinforcing a system of inequality. And that is an issue of social justice we must do something about. (I’ll be sharing more about this on The Data Museum later this fall.)

As I look to the research agenda for 2018, it is clear to me that there is a need to probe these issues more deeply. To assess how museums can help develop stronger communities. To staunch the losses we see among families. To contribute to the health and wellness of older adults. And to do much more to change the lives of more individuals for the better.

That means continuing to measure how and why we matter, but also changing our messaging to appeal to the extrinsic motivations most individuals have around learning. A pragmatic approach that celebrates our impact and increases our perceived value to more individuals … something I think we can all agree is necessary in these interesting times.

After all, my research tells me that we have already made a difference for millions of museum-goers. It’s time to do more.

If this work has whetted your appetite, visit The Data Museumfor weekly data releases, or Wilkening Consulting’s resources page for printable Research Releases and infographic Data Stories. To learn about upcoming webinars (including one in October on the 2017 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers) and future research releases, sign up for Susie’s newsletter.

Finally, your museum can also participate in the 2018 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, contributing to that necessary broader research in the field while benchmarking your audience’s engagement and demographics.

Susie Wilkening is the principal of Wilkening Consulting, a research and Knowledge Curation firm focusing on the role of museums in society.Susie has nearly 20 years of experience in museums, including over ten years leading custom projects for museums as well as fielding groundbreaking national research on behalf of the museum field.

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)